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Porto Food Tour

Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in the Heart of Porto

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Join us for this Porto food tour, as we spend the day getting to know the city’s lesser-known food traditions, its local institutions and its culinary heroes. We’ll visit and taste dishes across a wide spectrum of places, from the decadent to the down-home.

ABOUT

Porto is a postcard-perfect city, its beauty easily captured in a single frame. Picture monumental churches dressed in deep blue tiles that look out over the Douro River and onto the opposite hillside where the city’s famed Port wine lodges and their iconic billboards are dotted. A visit to Porto is often distilled into just such an image, quite pleasantly, but it barely scratches the surface of the city.

Dig a little deeper into the backstreets and we find the complexities and contrasts of city life and all of the culinary diversity that comes with it. Porto is a place where century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters, can be found not far from rustic cheese-and-sausage shops run by the descendants of poor migrants from Northern Portugal. More contrasts abound: Walk around Porto and you will encounter octogenarian Portuguese shoe cobblers sharing the street with Bangladeshi grocers, while hidden behind former palaces are neat and tidy shanties. And, while this is the city that gave the world the refinement of Port wine, it is also the home of the gutbuster Francesinha, a working-man’s sandwich we’d only eat to win a bet.

On this full-day food tour in Porto, with at least ten tasting stops, we’ll experience both sides of the city, from the decadent to the down-home.

We’ll start with a Porto ritual of flaky, sweet pastries and a strong coffee before exploring the Mercado do Bolhāo, arguably Portugal’s finest food market, which was recently reopened after a full renovation. We’ll make our way through stalls selling fresh fish, smoked meats, fruit and vegetables, stopping to greet the vendors and taste what’s in season. We’ll then set off into the city center to see some hidden spots from the belle époque of Porto on our way to a lunch counter where locals and visitors line up for a cachorrinho, a baton-shaped grilled cheese sandwich with smoked sausage, with a fanatical following. We’ll stop into a die-hard FC Porto tavern for a quick petisco of the region’s famed charcuterie. From here, we will head out into a classic residential neighborhood for a close look at how this city lives, and eats. At the local neighborhood tasca, we’ll be among all levels of Porto society who crowd the dining room for Senhor Dionísio’s daily specials. His cod fritters know no boundaries.

Along the way we’ll visit an historic grocery for a taste of the seminal cheeses of the north along with a tawny port. We’ll also visit a newly opened grocery, to crack open a few of the finest locally produced tinned fish, a local delicacy. We’ll finish at a classic sweet shop in the shadow of Porto’s most famous convent, for an eggy cake that was created by nuns nearby, reminding us that despite rapid urban changes, Porto’s traditions are kept safe in the kitchen.

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DETAILS

  • 2-7
  • 5 hours long
  • Daily 9:30am & 2pm
  • Bolhão - Bonfim
  • Culinary Backstreets
    Price: Adults x $140

Dietary

No vegetarian alternatives at 5 stops. Can be altered for a dairy-free diet but cannot accommodate a vegan diet. Samples alcohol.

Mobility

Visits a residential neighborhood that has fairly easy terrain but some stairs. Children welcome.
REVIEWS
This is a fantastic informational and decadent tour. Highly recommend for all ages. We were 13 years to 82!... Read more Read less
What a wonderful day we had! My friends and I took the tour as an activity during a girls get away and we all absolutely loved it.... Read more Read less
This was like a day with a friend showing you around where she lives.... Read more Read less
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
 
What is included in the fee? In addition to your Culinary Backstreets guide, all food consumed on the walk – almost a dozen different edible specialties – are included in the price. A limited selection of alcohol is served on the walks and is included in the price.
Why is the Culinary Backstreets tour more expensive than some other walking tours? Our approach is different than most tour companies. Each of our culinary walks is the outcome of considerable research. We work with academics in the field and our own team of experienced professionals – both guides and local journalists. Our ongoing publishing of articles, from restaurant reviews to features about the intersection of food and culture, constantly feeds new material into the culinary walks, so they evolve and constantly improve. Though costly, we believe that this is how to create the quality experiences we strive for. We practice honest tourism and would never accept a free lunch or any sort of commission. On the contrary, we are proud to know that the money spent during the culinary walk goes to support businesses that we believe in, helping to preserve the social and cultural fabric of the cities we love so dearly.
How does the payment process work? Once you have made a reservation, we require the full fee to be paid in order to complete the online booking. Your card will not be charged until the booking is accepted. Our online booking system uses Stripe to process secure payments.
What is your cancellation policy? 90% will be refunded if given 1 week notice prior to walk and 50% will be refunded if given 72 hours notice or more. Less than 72 hours is non-refundable.
Are your walks public or private? How many people are on them? Our walks are 2-7 people and are open to the public. If you would like to do a private walk, you can book it for a supplement by selecting book entire excursion. If it is not available on booking, we may be able to arrange one for an additional fee. Please contact us at walks@culinarybackstreets.com for more information.
Can I get a discount if I join more than one walk? Yes, we offer a 10% discount to those who join more than one walk. Please email us at walks@culinarybackstreets.com if you’d like to join multiple walks.
Are your walks suitable for people with food allergies? This can vary based on a number of factors, including the food item in question. Please email us at walks@culinarybackstreets.com to discuss your situation before booking. Nut allergies can be accommodated on our Porto culinary walk.
Are your walks suitable for vegetarians and pescatarians? This walk is not great for vegetarians or pescatarians: vegetarians will have to skip 5 stops and pescatarians will have to skip 3 stops.
Are your walks suitable for a gluten-free diet? This walk is not great for gluten-free diets: there will be no gluten-free alternatives at 4 stops.
Are your walks suitable for participants who do not eat fish, seafood or pork? Participants who do not eat fish will have to skip 1 stop; those who do not eat seafood will have to skip 2 stops; those who do not eat pork will have to skip 4 stops on our Porto culinary walk.
How physically demanding are the walks? The walk covers a few kilometers of fairly flat terrain, broken up into almost a dozen stops over almost 6 hours. Please note that Porto does have many hills and the streets and sidewalks of Porto can be cobblestone, therefore, we do recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes.
Can children join the walks? Of course! We offer a 50% discount to children ages 12 and under, and we charge $25 for children 6 and younger.
Can you pick me up from my hotel? How will I return, once the tour is over? Our tour prices don’t include transportation. If you book a tour, you’re responsible for arriving to the pre-arranged meeting spot on your own. Once the tour is over, we will help you get an authorized, safe taxi to your hotel, or provide directions on public transportation, if you’re interested in that.
How much food will I get to try? This is really up to you. We generally make between 9 and 12 eating stops on our walk and try to include some breaks from eating along the way. The price includes as much food as you’re open to trying. We offer a suggested portion size at each stop and you can take our recommendation if you’d like. Our walks often involve street food and sharing food.
How are you dealing with COVID-19 risk on your walks? We have reinforced our commitment to safety with new guidelines to assure maximum safety of our guests on our walks in terms of social distancing and hygiene while maintaining the quality of the experience. For more details on our precautions, read here. We are proud to have received the tourism stamp of clean & safe for our safety precautions. Our routes have been altered during this period of time to ensure the safety of our guests, guides and community. Our cancellation policy is extremely flexible to deal with changes in travel plans.
What are the current travel restrictions or requirements in Portugal? You can read the full travel regulations by location for Portugal here. Currently there are no quarantine requirements in Portugal Continental unless symptoms are shown or there is known contact with an infected person. Our cancellation policy is extremely flexible to deal with changes in travel plans. Please contact us for specific questions on travel restrictions.

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Guests

Adults
Age 13+
Children
Ages 7-12
Children
Ages 6 & under
Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in the Heart of Porto
Adults x $140
Total
Fee includes everything consumed on the walk.
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